Flood Repair: What Damages to Expect After a Flood and How to Fix Them

Flood Repair: What Damages to Expect After a Flood and How to Fix Them

It would be amazing to live in an underwater kingdom where Jason Momoa might drop by for ANY reason. Sadly, when our houses find themselves underwater it means damage and repairs. It might mean a stay in a hotel while all that gets fixed; if we’re lucky.

Being in a flooded house and living in a cloud of mold isn’t healthy. At the height of flood season, FEMA issues these lovely warnings about mold.

Flood repair may drive you to get in some restorative yoga. Getting things patched up in a hurry makes for a better life all around.

If you want to know what to look for in the wake of a flood in terms of damage and repairs, read on.

Flood Damages

Flood damages come in two distinct varieties. The first comes from long-term, or even short term, water exposure. The second from the actual force of water and debris hitting.

The second category happens less frequently outside of flood risk areas but it is worth noting.

Foundation Cracks

Depending on the soil and the drainage under a house, foundation damage may be an issue. This damage occurs when water soaks in and displaces the soil leaving gaps. The weight of the house then pushes unevenly and cracks open up.

Cracks in the foundation reverberate up, meaning things above can also shift.

Breaks and cracks in walls and pipes can occur. If the foundation damage is bad enough, the whole house can slough to one side or completely displace.

Door and Window Distortion

Swelling or a shift in the foundation may cause door and window frames to distort. This will be noticeable when a door or window won’t shut or open properly.

In severe cases, the door or window may even break from the pressure as the frame dries into a distorted shape.

Drywall and Insulation

Soaked drywall and wet insulation make perfect places for mold to grow. Even if mold growth itself doesn’t occur, the smells can be intolerable.

Drywall can discolor or warp as well, leaving gaps and buckled points.

Wet installation can shift downward. This exposes gaps and reduces efficacy. Expect a heating or cooling bill to go up unless repaired.

Furniture and Appliances

Speaking of installation, the padding in furniture and insulation in fridges and stoves gets hit hardest.

Water damage ruins washers, microwaves, and dryers quickly.

Chairs an sofas may become soaked and harbor mold.

Flooring

Carpet has a reasonable resistance to flooding. The padding and flooring underneath not as much.

The most common problems in water-damaged homes come from padding. Padding suffers from the same mold and smell issues and the walls and furniture.

Warping of boards under the carpet can create tripping hazards. Damage can lead to cracks and breaks exposing the house or foundation underneath.

Flood Repair Solutions

Fortunately, repair potential exists for each of these types of damage. Some repairs take a little bit of time and effort while others require replacement of items.

We’ll give a quick nod as to which repairs focus on salvage efforts over replacement. Repairing your flooded home can be painful because it often requires leaving the home for repairs to take place.

Foundation Cracks

Given that the rest of the house stands on the foundation, the damage here can be difficult to deal with.

Depending on the soil composition some fills and replacements are possible. Contractors open up sections of a foundation and fill it in with other materials.

If cracking has occurred to more than a few areas it might spell a total teardown for the rest of the house.

Door and Window Distortion

When you make repairs early, the window glass and doors can be saved. These items normally only need removal while the frames face repairs.

Depending on the damage, the frames get heated and then pressed to straighten. Unless the wood of the house is rare the most likely repair will be to replace the frames outright to ensure a good fit.

Glass panes and doors will then return to the frame and some shimming will be used to ensure a tight seal.

Drywall and Insulation

These items get replaced far more often than repaired. Drywall doesn’t do well returning to shape because of its fabrication. Insulation may be salvageable if dried and then reinstalled once the drywall replacement finishes.

Services that deal with flood repairs receive specialized certification to deal with older homes. Older homes may have toxic or dangerous insulation products.

Drywall replacing services can include costs to refinish or paint the walls.

Furniture and Appliances

When applicable to newer appliances, repair services may be an option. Many appliances damaged by flood water need to stripping and inspection before they are serviceable.

Furniture, depending on exposure, may be dried and professionally cleaned to remove mold and sewage damage. This can be expensive if an item was totally submerged. Antique furniture may need to be restored and takes precedent in repair over replace.

Electrical appliances, in particular, should never be used after a flood until inspected and certified. Otherwise, you risk fire damage and would need to read up on how to fix that next.

Flooring

The most common type of flooded house repair involves drying and replacing flooring. So much that some companies exclusively specialize in this service.

Flooring repairers lift up the carpet and then pull out the padding. The materials underneath get inspected for damage. They then pull out boards piecemeal or replace them altogether.

Cracks in a concrete backing get filled with a foam or sections may need to be cut out and refilled.

They lay down new padding and carpet is re-stretched over. Any new carpet needed would be put in as normal.

Tiles may do well with wet, but companies may also pull up and inspect and clean the flooring underneath the same as carpet.